Some days it feels like everything will work out… and some days, you’re honestly not sure.
So… what does fundraising actually feel like?
If you have never worked in fundraising, it probably looks pretty straightforward from the outside. You find a donor, pitch your work, they say yes (hopefully), and the money comes in. Done.
I wish….
Most days, it does not feel like a straight line at all. It feels more like standing in the middle of a bridge, one side is everything you believe in (the work, the children, the classrooms, the change you are trying to make), and the other side is… unknown to some extent.
Will this proposal land?
Will that conversation turn into something?
Will anything move this quarter?
You don’t really know. You just keep going…
At Mantra4Change, I have come to realise that fundraising is basically living in that- in between space, between hope and uncertainty. And learning to be okay with it.
Let’s clear a few things up.
Fundraising is about asking for money.
Not really.
A lot of the time, we are just listening. Sitting with program teams, trying to understand what is actually happening in schools. Talking about what is working, what is not, what is messy, what we are still figuring out and then trying to translate all of that into something that makes sense to someone who has never seen the field.
It is less “please give us money” and more “hey, this is what we are trying to do—do you want to be part of it?”
It must be quite glamorous.
I laughed a little writing this.
Most of it is follow-ups. And then more follow-ups. And then wondering if you should send one more follow-up.
There are proposals that take weeks (sometimes months), and then… silence. Or a polite no. Or “let’s revisit next year.”
And you are sitting there thinking, okay… back to the drawing board.
There is also this emotional side no one talks about. You have to keep believing in the work, even when things aren’t landing. Even when the pipeline feels dry. Even when you are tired.
Fundraising teams don’t really know what’s happening on the ground.
Honestly, if that were true, the work would fall apart.
So much of what we write comes from being close to the program, conversations with teams, stories from the field, small observations that do not always make it into reports but matter a lot.
Sometimes it is a line a teacher says. Or something a child does. That sticks with you. And later, somehow, it finds its way into a proposal.
What keeps us going as a team
Working like this—constantly not knowing—can get exhausting. So, the team culture matters a lot.
We talk. A lot.
About what is moving, what is stuck, what is likely to come through, what probably would not. There is no pretending everything is fine when it is not. And weirdly, that honesty helps. You do not feel like you are carrying uncertainty alone.
We are also pretty clear about what we would not do. Not every opportunity is worth chasing. Sometimes the money is there, but the alignment is not. And saying no to that… is hard, but necessary.
Also, small things help more than you would think.
A quick “that was a solid proposal” message.
A random chai break after a long day.
Laughing about that one email thread that just would not end.
And yeah, occasionally something completely random happens—like a donor going quiet for months and then suddenly replying like, “Hey, let’s pick this up again?” And you’re like… okay, sure, why not!!!
This is not corporate—and you feel it
I have had people ask, “Why is it so unpredictable?”
Because this is not sales. It is not just about effort = outcome.
We are not selling a product. We are asking people to believe in something that is complex, evolving, and sometimes hard to measure neatly.
Also, timelines? Completely different game.
Budgets shift. Priorities change. Decisions get delayed. And you’re just… waiting.
But at the same time, when things do come through, they come with something more than just money. They come with trust.
And that changes how you show up.
The constant back-and-forth with program teams
If I had to describe the relationship between fundraising and programs in one word, it would be intertwined.
Program teams are figuring things out on the ground, trying new approaches, adapting, learning as they go and we are trying to make sense of that, communicate it, and find support for it. Sometimes it aligns beautifully. A donor gets it. They understand the nuance, the uncertainty, and still say yes.
Other times… it is tricky.
A donor wants clear, measurable outcomes. The program is still exploring.
We are somewhere in the middle, trying to hold both.
There is no perfect answer. Just a lot of conversations, adjustments, and trying not to lose sight of what matters.
The part that is hard to explain
There is a kind of pressure that comes with this work.
Not just deadlines (though there are plenty of those), but the feeling that a lot depends on whether something comes through or not.
And the tough part? You can do everything right and it still might not work out.
That can mess with your head a little.
Which is why having a space where you can say, “This didn’t land, and I don’t know why,” without feeling judged… is really important.
And yet… this is why we stay
For all the uncertainty, there are these moments.
A donor who really listens. Not just to the polished version, but to the messy, evolving reality and says, “We trust you. Go ahead.”
A small grant that unlocks something meaningful for a school or a community.
A conversation that feels less like pitching and more like… shared intent.
Those moments stay with you.
They do not make the uncertainty go away. But they make it worth sitting with.
So, what is fundraising really?
It is not just about closing grants or hitting targets.
It is about showing up, again and again, with belief in the work—even when outcomes are not guaranteed.
It is about building relationships that take time, patience, and a lot of trust.
And it is about being okay living in that space between “this could really work” and “I have no idea how this will go.”
If you’re part of this ecosystem in any way you have probably felt that too.
And maybe that is the point.
We are all just trying to do good work… while figuring things out as we go.
